The Grizzly Bear

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The Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan

By: Mckenna Moura

Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan Draft Revised Supplement: Revised Demographic Recovery Criteria for the Yellowstone Ecosystem

• Date: March 11, 2016
• Location: Mountain-Prairie Region
• Listed As: Threatened in 1975
• Plan Stage: RF (1) - First Revision Approved

Description and Ecology of the Grizzly Bear

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The grizzly bear gets its name from the hairs that stick up on the back of their shoulders, making them look "grizzled." Another common name for these creatures is the brown bear, but they are typically only referred to by that name on the northern coasts of Canada and Alaska. Grizzly bears can be distinguished from other bears by the hump on their shoulders, concave faces, and claws that can be up to four inches long. These bears can range between 6 and 7 feet in length. The females can weigh up to 450 lbs and the males can weigh up to 850 lbs. A typical lifespan for a grizzly bear is anywhere between 20 and 25 years.  The grizzly bear population has a direct ecological effect on the different species of plants and animals in their habitats. They control the plant density because they eat berries, roots, grasses, etc. Due to this, the bears also have an indirect effect on migratory bird populations; a decrease in density of plant species leads to a decrease in bird populations as well. The bears also control animal populations such as elk, fish, and deer because those animals are another food source for them. Grizzly bears, being a predator to both plants and animals in their habitats, are a keystone species within their ecosystems.

                                                 Geographic and Population Changes 

http://www.defenders.org/grizzly-bear

There are a variety of habitats that grizzly bears can be found including forests, plains, and tundras. These bear populations can be found across North America, northern and eastern Europe, and most of Asia. Although there are groups that are located in Europe and Asia, the groups in North America and the Yellowstone area are more threatened by extinction. Places in North America like western Canada, Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana are the most common places to find their populations. Within these areas, there are a total of five populations remaining. Although there used to be around 50,000 in North America, these five groups are now only comprised of 1,800 grizzly bears. The majority of these bears are located in Yellowstone National Park and the Northern Continental Divide Population. 

https://www.doi.gov

Main Threats

The grizzly bear population was first put on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service list as a threatened species in 1975. The most deadly threats that put the bears listed as threatened are human-related deaths, loss of their habitats, and climate change. Between these, human-bear conflict is the greatest threat that grizzly bears face. Often times bears will wander into land owned by humans and feed off of their garbage. At that point the bears can be seen as a threat to people's safety and are shot by the private land owners or wildlife officials. These deaths can be easily be avoided, but sadly, humans act out of fear and respond irrationally. The second most common cause of grizzly bear deaths is the destruction of their habitats. They must safely maneuver around things that are not natural their environment like roads, subdivisions, livestock operations and energy development. Bear populations are also disconnected from each other when towns are set up and divide the grizzly bears. Finally, climate change is having a negative impact on the grizzly bear populations. Due to the fact that the world's climate is getting warmer, bears are hibernating later. This leads to more unintended shootings of grizzly bears, as well as a decrease in food supply for their populations. 

Recovery Plan

The path to recovery for the grizzly bear first began when they were listed as threatened in 1975. However, there have been revisions to this plan as recent as 2016. It addresses all of the main threats to the grizzly bear populations in North America specifically. The following steps are vital for the recovery plan to be successful:

• Minimize sources of human-bear conflict.
• Limit habitat loss or degradation because of human action such as road building, timber harvest, oil and gas exploration and development, mining, and recreation.
• Improve habitat and/or security where applicable. 
• Understand the relationship between bear density and habitat value to better understand limiting factors.
• Develop techniques to successfully move bears into areas where the populations are in need of augmentation. 
• Improve public relations and education to develop better support for and understanding of the species and to minimize adverse human actions.



https://www.usgs.gov

• Continue grizzly bear and habitat research to ensure adequate scientific knowledge is available on which to base management decisions.

Having these plans in place has already had a positive outcome on the grizzly bear populations. This graph displays the trends in increasing populations after taking the preliminary actions. There has been a drastic incline in population trends. The steps in this plan are accomplishing the goals to protect and stabilize the grizzly bear populations, preserve their habitats, and reduce human-bear conflicts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

 What You Can Do

There are several, easy ways that everyone can help the grizzly bears:

1) Adopt a Grizzly Bear! Click the link to start your process of saving these populations by adopting a grizzly bear (symbolically, of course)

2) Take Action! Contact your government leaders to  have them take a stand for the grizzly bears that cannot protect themselves.

3) Stay informed about important issues that arise to help prevent them from causing more destruction!

Other Resources

“Basic Facts About Grizzly Bears.” Defenders of Wildlife, 19 Sept. 2016,

        www.defenders.org/grizzly-bear/basic-facts.

“Grizzly Bears & the Endangered Species Act.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of

        the Interior, 13 Sept. 2017, www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearesa.htm.

"Revised Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan." Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan. 10 Sept. 1993,

        ecos.fws.gov/docs.pdf. 

“Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan Draft Revised Supplement: Revised Demographic Recovery
        Criteria for the Yellowstone Ecosystem.” Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan, 11 Mar. 2016,
        ecos.fws.gov/docs.pdf.

“Grizzly Biology & Behavior.” Western Wildlife Outreach, westernwildlife.org/grizzly-bear

        outreach-project/biology-behavior/.